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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County's Long-Term Recovery Task Force, now focused on the Clayton fire, will meet Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lower Lake High School Gymnasium located at 9430 Lake St.
Lake County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson reported that she and District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown are co-coordinating the Clayton fire recovery effort for the county of Lake.
Task force meetings are initially scheduled biweekly and will continue during the Clayton fire clean-up effort.
The public is welcome to attend and hear recovery updates firsthand.
The task force is a partnership of local, state and community representatives working together to provide comprehensive services to aid in the recovery of Clayton fire survivors and the rebuilding of Lower Lake.
Meetings provide an opportunity for fire survivors to share their concerns and ask questions of members of the task force.
The meeting will also be broadcast live on the Lake County OES Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyOES/ and be available for viewing later as well.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – With a unanimous show of support in the Assembly Thursday, Sen. Mike McGuire’s bill that will assist rural counties by again requiring the state to fund payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT, reimbursements to counties will now head to Gov. Brown’s desk for his signature.
In fact, support for the bill was so strong in the legislature that it was approved by all Senate committees, Assembly committees and both houses without receiving any votes in opposition.
PILT payments were established in 1949 to offset adverse impacts to county property tax revenues that result when the state acquires private property within a county for wildlife management areas.
Currently, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife owes nearly $8 million in payments to California’s 36 rural counties and a change in 2015 to the Fish and Game Code makes it even easier for the state to continue to forgo making these payments.
“The state needs to step up and follow through on a promise and advance Fish and Wildlife PILT payments to rural counties,” Sen. Mike McGuire said. “Since 2001, California has been depositing millions of PILT dollars into the General Fund. Those dollars should have been going to rural counties and it’s time to give those counties their due.”
Holding back these payments to counties on the North Coast has had a detrimental impact on the counties and their bottom line.
For example, in PILT payments alone, Del Norte is owed more than $220,000, Humboldt County is owed more than $160,000, Lake County is owed $93,000, Sonoma County is owed $116,000 and Marin County is owed more than $150,000.
“This was an agreement made decades ago and the state has reneged on these payments for far too long,” Sen. McGuire said. “Small communities and rural counties desperately need these dollars to keep our neighborhoods safe, fund local fire and emergency services and invest in crumbling roads and streets.”
The legislation was supported by the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC).
“On behalf of California’s rural counties, we appreciate the California Legislature’s approval of Senator McGuire’s Senate Bill 1188,” said Lee Adams, RCRC immediate past chair and Sierra County supervisor. “State PILT is a crucial source of public safety and health and welfare funding for counties, and ensuring this funding source continues simply honors the implicit state commitment that began more than six decades ago. We are grateful for the senator’s leadership on this issue, and we urge the governor to sign this legislation.”
SB 1188 is a bi-partisan effort to make PILT payments to counties a requirement. It passed unanimously, 66-0, in the Assembly on Thursday. It will now head to Gov. Brown’s desk for potential signature.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Klamath River anglers in the spit area (within 100 yards of the channel through the sand spit formed at the Klamath River mouth) will have caught their sub-quota of 167 adult fall-run Chinook salmon by sundown on Monday, Aug 22.
The spit area subsequently was closed to fishing one hour after dark.
Only the spit area is affected by this closure. Fishing downstream of the Highway 101 Bridge in the estuary will be unaffected until the lower river quota of 555 adult fall-run Chinook salmon over 22 inches is met.
Once that number is met, anglers will still be able to fish but will have to release any Chinook salmon over 22 inches.
As of Aug. 22, the lower Klamath River tally is 188 salmon caught.
The Klamath River above the confluence with the Trinity River will remain open until 189 adult Chinook are caught in this area.
The quota on the Trinity River is 183 adult Chinook from the confluence with the Klamath River up to Cedar Flat, and 183 adult Chinook from Cedar Flat up to the Old Lewiston Bridge.
Anglers may keep track of the status of open and closed sections of the Klamath and Trinity rivers by calling 800-564-6479.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Community members who have been receiving CalFresh benefits and were living in Lower Lake (95457) and Clearlake (95422) zip codes at the time of the Clayton fire will receive automatic replacement of a portion of their CalFresh benefits.
This replacement issuance is intended to enable CalFresh households to replace lost perishable foods.
Because CalFresh benefits were issued between Aug. 1 and 10, and subsequent power outages began on Aug. 13, CalFresh recipients with benefits issued from Aug. 6 to 10 will receive 60-percent replacement, and CalFresh recipients with benefits issued from Aug. 1 to 5 will receive 45-percent replacement.
Recipients may check their Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, balance by calling 877-328-9677 or visiting the EBT Web site www.ebt.ca.gov , and may contact Lake County Social Services at 707-995-4200 for any questions.
SACRAMENTO – California’s community colleges are welcoming students this fall term with improved transfer pathways to California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) as well as bachelor degree offerings at 10 colleges as part of a historic pilot program aimed at meeting the needs of the state’s changing economy.
Additionally, college will be more affordable for thousands of students thanks to nearly two dozen College Promise programs now in place or beginning soon across the state.
“We usher in the new academic year enthusiastic about the road ahead,” said California Community Colleges Interim Chancellor Erik E. Skinner. “From improved transfer pathways to exciting new certificate programs at many of our campuses and the introduction of the bachelor’s degree at select colleges, our students now have even more choices when it comes to accomplishing their higher education goals.”
Bachelor’s degree programs will start at Antelope Valley College (airframe manufacturing technology); Bakersfield College (industrial automation); Feather River College (equine and ranch management); Foothill College (dental hygiene); Rio Hondo College (automotive technology); San Diego Mesa College (health information management); Santa Monica College (interaction design); Shasta College (health information management); Skyline College (respiratory care); and West Los Angeles College (dental hygiene). Five more programs are set to begin by the Fall 2017 semester.
“Our students now have the opportunity for local career advancement with this one-of-a-kind program,” said Antelope Valley College President Ed Knudson. “Antelope Valley College’s new airframe manufacturing technology degree embraces the unique training needs of the Antelope Valley’s aerospace economy. We are proud to be creating the area’s next generation high tech workforce.”
The California Community Colleges Board of Governors gave final approval to the landmark pilot program in 2015. The bachelor’s degree programs are all in career technical education fields like health, technology and science that are hiring and need more skilled workers.
“The impact of being able to provide a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care at an affordable cost will allow students to directly access higher wage jobs in our community. It is a win for the student and a win for San Mateo County,” said Skyline College President Regina Stanback Stroud, Ed.D.
The number of California community college students transferring to both the CSU and the UC is up slightly. It is easier than ever for students to receive an associate degree while preparing for transfer to CSU via the Associate Degree for Transfer Program (AA-T/AS-T).
More than 2,000 transfer degrees are available at California community colleges statewide which, upon completion, guarantee students transfer to the CSU system at junior level with the opportunity to complete of a similar baccalaureate program in no more than 60 units. More information is available at www.adegreewithaguarantee.com .
The number of degrees awarded through the program in 2014-2015 was nearly double the amount awarded the year before. 20,644 students earned Associate Degrees for Transfer in 2014-15 compared to 11,448 in 2013-14.
Students interested in transferring to one of the nine undergraduate UC campuses can use the university’s new Transfer Pathways, which outline a single set of community college courses that prospective transfer students can take to prepare for a particular major.
Transfer Pathways have been developed for the 21 most popular majors for transfer students. More information is available at http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/preparation-paths/index.html .
As the cost of higher education continues to make headlines across the country, California is leading the way in the development and implementation of College Promise programs.
College Promise programs started in the early 2000s as a way to address the problem of college affordability by offering higher education funding for students who live in particular communities. California now has 23 such programs, 16 of which were announced just this year.
More information on the California College Promise and the various programs can be found at https://calcollegepromise.org/ .
“To see the interest and excitement about creating College Promise programs demonstrates the commitment we all have to the success of our students," said California College Promise chairperson Helen Benjamin. “For 30 years, California, with its Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver program, has offered free tuition to financially needy students. Promise programs go a step further by providing financial help for other costs associated with attending college, including books, transportation and living expenses.”
For students who have not yet applied to attend a California community college, it’s not too late. Prospective students can visit http://home.cccapply.org/ to find information about each of the 113 campuses as well as application information.
A variety of financial aid opportunities are available for students, including the BOG Fee Waiver, Pell Grants and loans. Visit www.icanaffordcollege.com to learn more about each option. The Web site offers a step-by-step guide to finding and securing the right kinds of aid to fund each student’s community college experience.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.
For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ , https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges .
LUCERNE, Calif. – A late-night wildland fire burned up a hillside, resulted in evacuations and a power outage, and closed a portion of Highway 20.
The fire was reported at around 12 a.m. Monday in the area of Highway 20 east of Rosemont Drive, according to reports from the scene.
Sheriff's deputies and fire units arriving at the fire's location reported that it was quickly burning up dry grass and brush and making a run up a steep hillside.
Initial size reports put the fire at half an acre, with Northshore Fire requesting additional help from Cal Fire, other fire districts around the Lake and the US Forest Service, based on scanner reports.
Deputies were requested to help with traffic control, as the westbound lane of Highway 20 was blocked with emergency vehicles, incident command said.
With the fire making a run at homes on Panoramic Drive, deputies began helping with evacuating homes.
Just before 1 a.m. deputies went door to door, using a loudspeaker to call to residents to immediately leave the area.
A short time later the fire was estimated to be as large as 40 acres, according to radio reports.
A Lake County News reporter on scene said the fire appeared to be throwing out small sport fires.
As many as 15 homes were said to have been evacuated, with an estimated 20 evacuees gathering at Lucerne Harbor Park, reports indicated.
Incident command reported that forward progress on the fire was stopped shortly after 2 a.m.
However, shortly after 2:20 a.m. a spot fire that came off of the main fire made a run, and a unit that had just cleared the scene had to be recalled to help work on it, according to scanner traffic.
Firefighters reported that power lines were down in the fire area.
Pacific Gas and Electric reported that power to a large area was knocked out at about 1:30 a.m., but as of 2 a.m. hadn't specifically attributed the outage to the fire.
The impacted area was south of Lucerne from Pepperwood Cove to Glenhaven, and stretching across the lake into the Buckingham Park area and parts of Soda Bay Road, with 1,751 customers affected, PG&E said.
As of 5 a.m., all but 314 customers had their power restored, with the remainder expected to have their power back on by 5:45 a.m., PG&E said.
The California Highway Patrol said that Highway 20 between Rosemont and Bruner in the Lucerne area was closed for an extended period of time beginning at around 1:20 a.m. due to the wildland fire.
Fire units were continuing their work on scene at 5 a.m., at which time the highway remained closed.
However, CHP was working with incident command to get the eastbound lane of the highway reopened, with the westbound lane to remain closed temporarily while firefighters continued to work at the scene.
Email Elizabeth Larson at